pro-life

One of the greatest connections Evangelical Calvinism put together in my head is that Jesus is the image of God, and we were made in the image of God. The imago dei, that divine imprint we all bear, is grounded in our sharing of a nature with God in Christ. Jesus’ humanity makes our humanity the sacred thing that it is.

Connecting all human life to Jesus’ human life affects many issues, and abortion is no exception. Believe it or not (I know for most people in my life circles this is probably hard to believe), there are otherwise solid Christian individuals, groups, and churches who believe abortion is not necessarily sinful. This is, in my opinion, our generation of the Church’s most tragic, or at least one of the most tragic, failing. But I do not deny their genuine faith, for Christians in every age have held similarly horrid positions.

Since I do accept these brothers as members of one faith in one Christ, I would like to engage with them constructively rather than ignore them or vilify them. On many issues I hold the reservation that I might be wrong. Not so here, and I therefore think it is very important to have this conversation, and hopefully help my friends see the light on this matter.

Okay, enough with the introduction. What is my actual argument? Well, it’s fairly straightforward. Human worth, identity, and sanctity are all bound up with the image of God we were made in. This image is no other than Jesus Himself, God as a human being. By becoming a human Jesus gave humanity the image of God and our worth (not that humans lacked God’s image before Jesus’ arrival; His Incarnation is an eternal fact which affects even the dawn of time).

The significance of this for abortion is that we them humans (teens and kids, too!) have God’s image and a right to life because God was one of us. Jesus brought unity between God and humanity by being both in His earthly life. This applies to abortion because Jesus’ incarnation, His human existence, did not begin at His birth but while He was still in the womb! God did not only become a born child, but an unborn one. In fact, it seems Biblically safe to say that God became man at conception. (To say otherwise seems to me to run the risk of various Christological heresies.)

Because in Jesus even unborn humanity was united with God, it is impossible to deny them the same value, dignity, and protection that we expect as grown people. Our lives are sacred because Jesus lived as one of us, and in that life He lived as an unborn child as well, so their lives are just as sacred. We cannot just kill them, especially as innocent and helpless as they are, any more than we can just kill anyone else.

In fact, the issue is bigger than killing a created being. God in Jesus identifies with all who share the human nature of His Son, and is especially concerned with the needy, oppressed, and helpless. Violence against any human being, especially one like that, is violence against God Himself. Killing any human, including the unborn, is akin to crucifying Christ because in Christ all people are gathered up and bound to their Creator.

I know this will not immediately sway any believer who happens to be pro-choice. It’s not often people approach any issue, much less abortion, from the perspective of Jesus’ Incarnation. But it is vital that we do so, especially here where the issue is one of life and death. I do pray you will all consider this with Scripture and prayer. And if you’re pro-life but know a pro-choice believer, I encourage you to share this with them. Maybe God can use it to change some hearts if we ask.